Kunoichi Love
by Silvi Sweetheart
Summary: Six stories of love in it's varied stages, all tied together through chance. Budding romances, lifelong bonds, and even the most random meeting can bring two people together and sometimes... it even provides the means to keep them together. Shoujo-ai
1. Part One x Chapter One

**Story Notes:**

Like most of my work, I'm going to try something a little different with this one. In each Part (which are broken into Three Chapters each) there will be one or more missing scenes which will appear in the next Parts and link them together. It's less confusing then it sounds and makes things kinda fun methinks ^_^

Note: This first bit here was written quite a while ago (before Shippuuden) and I just couldn't bring myself to rewrite it so I'm posting it as is... so don't be surprised if the writing style and content changes a bit in later chapters. Consider it a mixture of old and new to try and keep up to speed with the new episodes/chapters.

Note #2: I've left the techniques/terminology in original Japanese because it just felt awkward putting the translated version. In order to help those unfamiliar with the show I usually describe what it is/does in the next few sentences following it. If anyone gets confused, just point it out in a review and I'll be happy to clarify.

Now enjoy! ^_^

**Kunoichi Love**

_Part One - Chapter One_

_**--**_

_**When everything changes...**_

_**--**_

_**-Hinata-**_

Hinata let out a small cheer when all six kunai sank into the center of their respective targets, night training definitely having it's advantages. While there was nobody around the shy kunoichi could be a little less restrained, even if the difference was slight. Tonight it would seem, she was not so lucky as to avoid attention as she could hear someone approaching through the brush. With years of avoiding direct, and in her case, often embarrassing conversation under her belt, she quickly hid herself behind a nearby post.

"Byakugan!" she whispered as quietly as possible, the veins protruding slightly around her eyes as they flooded with chakra. Her enhanced vision easily picked up the rapidly approaching form, or rather, forms as it was clearly one being carried by the other. Both of them had an enormous amount of chakra, one of which, the one being carried, she recognized instantly. Indeed it was the one chakra she could never forget in a million years. Her heart began to beat faster.

But something was wrong, not so much that he was being carried as that was often the case when he returned from a mission where he had burned up all his energy fighting. The shape was all wrong, it still had the same features as Naruto just... different. Even the chakra was slightly odd now that she looked closely enough. It seemed softer, more gentle, the normally radiant red had settled into a darkish pink color. Something was definitely wrong here and she intended to find out.

"Naruto-kun..." she whispered as she set out after them, her heart filling with dread.

_**-Sakura-**_

Despite how late into the evening the day had gone the pink haired medical ninja was still putting dutifully about the hospital. It was rather boring this time of night as usual. Organizing this, dusting that, smiling cheerfully at Jiraiya who had just come bursting through the doors holding a bloody, orange clad body and shouting about some horrible accident. Yep, just an ordinary, boring... wait a second... something wasn't quite right about that last one.

"Naruto!"

Instantly shifting to doctor mode she quickly led the silver haired Sanin to the nearest examination room where she tore off her cleaning apron and began furiously scrubbing her hands at the sink.

"Just put him there on the table and explain his injuries to me as best you can!"

"It's not what you think, his physical injuries are nothing to be worried about..."

Sakura paused her scrubbing for a moment, both at the solemn tone of the normally jovial old hermit, and at the reminder of the Kyuubi sealed inside Naruto that would rapidly heal it's host's body. She continued her scrubbing.

"A mental attack then? Was he injured by a Genjutsu?"

"If only it were that easy..."

Her heart was sunk low in her chest as she finished her preparations. '_Naruto...' _The pink haired kunoichi took a deep breath to steady herself and turned around. There on the table lay Naruto, breathing evenly and without so much as a scratch on him... correction, without so much as a scratch on HER. Well trained eyes looked the Sexy no Jutsu influenced Naruto up and down, and while his, or rather, her, typical black and orange jump suit was torn and coated with blood, Sakura couldn't find a single injury, physical or otherwise. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she turned to face Jiraiya**,** a dark aura filling the room.

"BAKA ERO-SANIN! Trying to play a prank on me! You lousy excuse for a Shinobi!"

"Wait Sakura I can explain!" Jiraiya pleaded, waving his hands in front of him for protection, he gulped hard at the sound of her knuckles cracking and backed himself against the wall. Survival instinct kicked in and he pointed frantically at Naruto. "Please examine him more closely," he pleaded, having fallen to his knees to further the effect of pitifulness, "an expert medical ninja like yourself will surely notice the problem!" The memories of various beatings delivered to him by Tsunade slowed to a halt as her advance stopped.

"I had better find something horribly wrong with him... or else!" She cracked her knuckles for emphasis and turned back to the sleeping form on the table.

Jiraiya let out a slow breath now that he was relatively safe. '_Those two are so alike it's scary.'_ His eyes found their way to Naruto's prone body and he sighed. '_Naruto... even after all you've been through you you still manage to find new ways to make things difficult...'_

"Jiraiya-sama, please leave the room, I need to examine him more closely."

The old letch scratched his chin. "Why would I need to leave, it's not like I've never seen a nak..." the fist slamming into his face cut him short and sent him right out the doorway to crash into the opposite wall of the hallway. Sakura slammed the door to the room, muttering something about perverted old men as she returned to her task.

She examined the unconscious form for a few minutes, looking for any visible irregularities and not finding any, opted for a more in depth search. '_This is so awkward!'_ she thought to herself as she cut and removed the already ruined shirt. There on the table before her lay a rather busty, topless, pig-tailed blond girl. As Sakura's eyes roamed over the noticeably beautiful female form she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, Inner Sakura was practically raving.

_-Damn it all! It's bad enough that I used to use the same shampoo as that dog Kakashi-sensei summons, now I'm loosing to Naruto in size!-_

She shook her head to clear away the jealousy and continued the task of undressing her friend. Once finished she was forced to take another admiring sweep at the nude form in front of her. Remembering what she was doing she began examining her friend thoroughly for any kind of injury or irregularity but she was coming up blank. No matter how she looked at it, Naruto was a perfectly healthy young... woman.

_'A beautiful young woman...'_ she thought, somewhat sullenly, even Inner Sakura had to give the nod to that one. Giving up on finding anything wrong she simply settled on staring at the young female body in front of her, focusing particularly on the ample chest. '_Gotta hand it to Naruto, the Sexy no Jutsu is definitely something to be admired.'_

Without thinking she reached out and poked one of the globes with her finger, surprising herself with both the action, and the supple texture. Unable to stop the ensuing curiosity she cupped the breast with one hand and placed the other on her own, rather diminutive chest. She let out a depressed sigh as the difference between a young woman's body and a girl's body was made painfully obvious.

_'I've got to remember to ask Naruto the details of the technique when he wakes up. It's not like any Henge Jutsu I've ever seen, it's almost like he creates a whole new...'_ That's when the thought struck her, and it wasn't the knowledge that she was still groping her friend's breast. '_When he wakes up... transformation... that's it!' _Removing the hand that was on her own breast she formed a Seal and focused her chakra into the hand on Ona-Naruto's breast. "Kai!"

The room was filled with the familiar smoke that followed any Henge or Bunshin Jutsu. Sakura waited impatiently for it to clear, the tension gripping tightly to her stomach. Finally fading enough for her to see she gazed down at the effects of her Dispel Jutsu.

"Oh no..." She ran to the door and flung it open. "Jiraiya-sama, please bring Tsunade-sama here as quickly as possible!" she shouted into the hallway, failing to notice the perverted hermit was still crumpled against the wall. The shock of her slamming the door as she retreated back into the room however, was enough to bring him him to full consciousness.

_'Yep,' _he thought to himself, '_So alike it's scary...'_

--

A lone figure stood outside the hospital watching the exam with horrified, pale white eyes until the pain became too great. She turned and fled, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan... how could you!"

_**-Naruto-**_

"...nent." The muffled voice barely registered in sleep bleary ears.

"What do you mean permanent!" A much louder voice rang in, this one clear as day. "How's he supposed to.."

"Sakura-chan?" The pink haired kunoichi froze mid-outburst and turned to stare at Naruto, tears rimming her bright green eyes.

"Naruto!" she shouted, diving towards him and wrapping him up in a tight embrace. He could feel tears dripping onto his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Naruto... I couldn't help you at all!" The tears came harder now, and her body was racked with sobs. He could feel an odd constriction to his chest but couldn't quite place what it was.

"Oi, Sakura-chan..." he stuttered out, embarrassment overwhelming him, "I feel fine! I always do whenever you heal me," he said, noticing that his throat felt a little funny, but ignored it.

"Baka! You're not fine at all!" He winced at the sound of Tsunade's imposing voice. Sakura removed herself and settled for staring at him with sad eyes.

"What are you talking about Oba-san did I get injured or something?" He was getting worried now and felt his face to make sure everything was still there. Other than feeling thin and unnaturally smooth everything seemed to be in order. Tsunade shook her head.

"Look in the mirror," she said, pointing to the full sized mirror on the other side of the room. He lifted himself out of bed and felt an unusual yet somehow familiar balance as he walked to the mirror. There before him stood his Sexy no Jutsu self.

"Huh? That's weird, normally I turn back to normal if I get knocked out," she said, admiring her girlish form in the mirror. "My Sexy no Jutsu is the best!"

"That's why you're in the hospital!" Tsunade shouted, eyebrow twitching. Naruto wasn't paying attention to her and started to lift up the hospital gown but Tsunade quickly put a stop to that by punching the blonde hard on top of the head, sending her crashing to the floor. "Baka! Don't do inappropriate things! Especially since you're stuck in that body forever!"

"Tsunade-sama..." Sakura muttered, not daring to fully speak up.

Naruto ripped a rather erotic slit in the front of the hospital gown and pounced to her feet to give Tsunade her most sensual, doe eyed look.

"Tsu-na-de-sama," she whimpered seductively, tracing her fingertips across her now revealed cleavage. "Please be gentle with me Tsu-na-de-sa..." the erotic speech was cut short by another flooring punch from the Hokage.

"That technique only works on men and pervert women!" Tsunade shouted. Despite her proclamation Sakura couldn't help but notice a thin trickle of blood leaking from the Hokage's nose and, sadness forgotten, suppressed a giggle. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Umou..." came the response from the near dead Naruto, steam rising from two rapidly forming goose eggs on the back of her head.

"I said you're stuck in that body forever!"

"Nah, all I have to do is dispel the Jutsu," Naruto said, slowly rising to her feet and forming a seal. "Kai!" After the smoke cleared Ona-Naruto could be seen standing there with a thumbs up sign and a huge smile. "See, it's as easy as that when you're as good as me!" she proclaimed, thumping herself on the chest several times and effectively tearing away what little coverage the gown still offered. "That's why I'm going to become the next Hokage!" she announced with the usual Naruto gusto, completely oblivious to the fact that SHE was effectively topless.

Sakura sweat dropped. '_He may be a girl now but she's still an idiot,'_ Inner Sakura nodded her approval.

"Oi', future Hokage-sama?" Tsunade chuckled, failing to suppress her mirth.

"Yosh," Naruto declared proudly.

"Your breasts are showing."

-

**End Notes:**

Well... what do you think? I know the whole premise is a bit odd but bear with me because it all comes together nicely. The first Part (mostly the next two chapters) were a real bitch to write because not only was I working from an old idea, but IN character Hinata is ridiculously hard to write for me for some reason... but I managed to get the little cutie down pretty well I think. ^_^

Loves to all of you who review!


	2. Part One x Chapter Two

**Kunoichi Love**

_Part One – Chapter Two_

_**--**_

_**Lessons in womanhood...**_

_**--**_

**_-Hinata-_**

Hinata was hanging on Tsunade's every word, hoping to find something that she could do, some way that she could help. Sure, everyone in the room was listening intently, it wasn't every day all the teams were gathered for an audience with the Hokage, but she had a purpose beyond all of theirs. Naruto was the person she cared for more then anybody in the whole world and she was going to do something to help. She nodded in affirmation from her place in the back of the room... behind Kurenai-sensei... this time Hinata was going to stand out!

"...effectively replacing his own body with a female one at the exact moment he ran completely out of chakra. Now, this wouldn't be a problem for a normal Shinobi..."

"Oi, why wouldn't this be a problem for a normal Shinobi?" Kiba interrupted, the others present all mumbled their sentiments, the Jounins all giving each other a sideways glance.

"Because a normal Shinobi would be dead." Tsunade's bluntness put a quick stop to the murmuring. "However, in his case the super fast recovery rate of both his body and his chakra caused it to restore him in his current form, that of his... Sexy no Jutsu," she said, clearly embarrassed by the name of the technique.

"Isn't there any way to change him back? Some medical technique you or... some other highly skilled medical ninja could perform?" Ino chimed in, glancing sideways at Sakura. Tsunade shook her head.

"The only person I can think who might know of such a technique is Orochimaru and I seriously doubt he's up for sharing that information."

"Couldn't he just use a regular transformation jutsu to look like his old self?" Ten-Ten opted. This time it was Sakura who responded.

"You weren't in our class so you wouldn't know it but the regular transformation jutsu is one of Naruto's worst technique, he failed the final exam partly because of it. Even if he could use it correctly it would simply waste too much chakra and severely decrease his... her fighting potential." Everyone was quiet for a long time till Shikamaru sighed his typical sigh, having already figured out what was going on.

"How troublesome... So basically what you're here to tell us, Hokage-sama, is that we all need to get used to the fact that Naruto's gonna be a girl from now on."

"That's correct."

As a general uproar took control of the room the shy, pale eyed, Hyuuga girl could not suppress a mournful sob. '_What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to feel now? What am I supposed to...'_ A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, removing her from her troubled thoughts. Pale white met spiraled red as Hinata looked up into Kurenai's understanding gaze. '_Of course she knows, she's been taking care of me all of these years... and she was standing right there when I gave Naruto-kun the ointment I made during the Chuunin Exam.'_ Kurenai smiled and knelt beside her.

"Everything is going to be okay Hinata-chan. No matter what happens you just have to follow your heart and everything will be fine. I promise." Hinata was unsure if those words reassured her or deepened her fears but she didn't have time to ponder them as Tsunade spoke up again.

"Also, there's one more thing I'd like to ask of one of the Kunoichi present. I'm ranking this as a Class A Mission."

_Thump Thump _Hinata's heart pounded hard in her chest. '_This is it, I can feel it!'_

"She'll be needing someone to show her how to live as a woman." The silence was deafening. "Just the basics so she can properly take care of herself." Nobody moved.

_Thump Thump_

"Diet."

_Thump Thump _

"Using feminine products."

_Thump Thump Thump_

"Bathing."

_Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump_

The slightest movement could be seen from the group. That of the diminutive, pale eyed girl shyly pressing her fingertips together.

"Um..." '_I can finally be of use to Naruto-kun...' _"Um... I..." She slowly started to raise her hand, she felt a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder. '_I'll get to spend lots of time with Naruto-kun...' _"...I'll..." Her hand was almost all the way up, Tsunade was turning her head towards her. '_I'll tell Naruto-kun that I...'_

"I'll do it." Sakura said, stepping forward. A flare of something unfamiliar shot through Hinata... anger. "He is on my team after all, I know him... her better then anybody here."

_'No! You don't know anything about Naruto-kun! All you do is cause him pain!' _Memories of what she'd seen the night before flashed through her mind adding fuel to the already raging fire. '_Not you! Not the one who did those things to Naruto-kun! No... No... NO!'_

"No," came Tsunade's curt reply.

"What?! Why not?!" Sakura was clearly disappointed and Hinata glared daggers at the girl even as relief flowed through her.

"I'm sending a medical envoy to the Sand Village tomorrow and you need to be with them. It'll have to be someone else." That's when it hit her, she still had a chance!

_Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump_

The hand on her shoulder moved down to the small of her back and shoved her forward. Hinata, being completely off guard, ended up stumbling clear to the middle of the room. She looked over her shoulder at Kurenai who held up her left pinky finger and winked. The red faced Hinata ever so slowly raised her face up to look at Tsunade who wore a wide grin.

"Thank you very much Hinata-chan. I couldn't think of anyone better suited then someone as sweet and kind as you. Now, let's get this started off, shall we?" She turned to the door and shouted, "Naruto-chan, come in here please!" she called out sweetly, obviously enjoying herself a little too much.

_'Naruto...-chan?' _Hinata turned to the doors and waited, heart in her throat, using every last ounce of willpower she had not to use her Byakugan to look through the door. When at last they swung open, in walked the most sour faced girl Hinata had ever laid eyes on. Everyone present except for the two of them promptly burst into laughter.

Even though Hinata had never seen the Sexy no Jutsu she could instantly place this girl as Naruto. She had the trademark blonde hair albeit in the form of twin ponytails and looked to be wearing a rather tight fitting version of Sakura's favorite dress, no doubt on loan from the pink haired girl. The face and the form may have been made more delicate and feminine, but she could see it in those beautiful blue eyes... this was her Naruto. She swallowed hard.

"Naruto-chan..." she said, shyly pressing her fingertips together.

"Hm?" the sour faced girl responded, staring at Hinata, trying her best to ignore the laughter.

"Um.... um..." _ Thump Thump Thump Thump_

"Hm?"

"You look beautiful!" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She froze. '_I can't believe I said that! Oh no oh no oh no oh no! Maybe she didn't hear me! Wait... why is it so quiet.... oh please no...'_

She turned slowly, painfully slowly, from Naruto's shocked face to the crowd of shocked faces, the laughter had apparently died down just before her outburst. The last thing she remembered was seeing a smile on Kurenai's face before everything went black.

--

Hinata awoke slowly as the morning light began creeping over her face. The remaining memories of her dream bringing a lazy smile to her lips. She couldn't help but giggle as she remembered how cute Naruto had been as a girl. "Naruto-chan."

"Oh you're awake Hinata."

Sitting bolt upright, Hinata came face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes framed by a delicate female face. "Na-ru-to-chan?"

"Hm?" the blonde girl responded.

Hinata screamed and laid down so fast on the springy bed that she bounced right back up into a sitting position, the momentum bringing their lips together in a gentle kiss. With wide eyes the girl backed away from the blonde and threw the blanket over her head. Her temporary solitude allowed her to gather herself enough to breath.

'_It wasn't a dream! Oh no oh no oh no! I kissed her! My first kiss... I kissed her! Oh this is bad... this is bad!'_

"You okay, Hinata?" Slowly, she pulled the sheet away from her beat red face and nodded.

"Y-y-y-y-yes." She swallowed hard to compose herself. "I'm fine Naruto-chan." Finally conscious and not scared out of her mind she took a look around, finding herself in a filthy room she didn't recognize. Naruto was still crouched on the bed next to her, still wearing Sakura's dress and giving the shy girl a rather gratuitous look at a pair of pink underwear, also borrowed... hopefully. "Um... Naruto-chan... how did I get here?"

"I carried you. After you passed out Kurenai-sensei asked if I'd bring you here." Hinata took a brief fantasy trip to imagine the scene before Naruto started speaking again. "She brought over a bag of stuff too," Naruto added, reaching behind her to grab a large sack and place it in front of Hinata. One look inside the bag was enough to set her face ablaze so she quickly closed it.

"We'll, ah.. we'll look at those things later."

"Hey Hinata..." Naruto trailed off, suddenly looking very nervous.

"Yes, Naruto-chan?"

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me. I know we don't hang out very much but... well..." Naruto reached out and squeezed one of Hinata's breasts while leaning in to kiss the pale eyed girl's neck. With a scream and a shove she sent Naruto sailing off the bed, throwing the sheet over her head once more to hide her burning face. "Ow! Jeeze, what was that for?!" she heard Naruto call out from the other side of her protective barrier.

"W-W-What do you think you're doing?!" she squeaked, covering her breasts in case the girl tried to go for another feel through the sheets.

"What do you mean? That's how women always thank each other in Ero-Sanin's books. Did I do something wrong? You can feel me first if you want to..." Hinata tore away the sheet.

"Those books aren't real Naruto-chan! They're mostly just pointless lesbian sex scenes! Those things don't really happen in real life!" Hinata shouted before stopping stopped cold, hoping the other girl wouldn't catch on to the implications.

"You've read them?" the blonde asked with a grin.

'_Somebody please kill me...'_ the pale eyed girl pleaded in her mind.

_**-Naruto-**_

"Is this right?" she asked, turning around so the blushing girl could inspect her handiwork. She'd never imagined that putting on a bra could be such a difficult task to master, hence the late night practice. Even after three days she was still having trouble adjusting to certain things, but she didn't really care because she couldn't remember a time when she'd had more fun.

"You did it Naruto-chan! I knew straps would be the best for you. How do the cups feel on your... um... your chest?" The blonde had to fight down a girlish giggle, something she found was occurring more and more often due to the shy girl's antics. It was so cute watching her go from smiling and laughing to blushing and demure so quickly.

"Feels great actually! I always wondered how you girls could stand walking around with them bouncing like they do but with a bra it's not that bad. Look!" she said excitedly, hopping up and down several times for Hinata to see, "hardly any bounce at all!"

"Naruto-chan... you shouldn't..." the girl started, swooning slightly where she stood, "shouldn't do things like that, it's..."

"Ohh, but it's no fun holding myself back, Hinata-chan!" the blonde pouted. "It looks really cute when you act all shy and stuff but I just can't do it!"

"C-cute? You think I-I look... cute?" Hinata asked, lowering her eyes and prodding her index fingers together.

"See, just like that!" Naruto said with a laugh, pointing at Hinata's face. "It's so adorable when you get like that it makes me want to do stuff so it happens again!" Hinata went weak in the knees, forcing Naruto to reach out and steady her. "Seriously though, why are you so shy, Hinata-chan? You've got so much willpower in you but you hardly seem to use it." The words struck a cord in the girl and for only the second time since she'd known her, Naruto saw Hinata's features darken over.

"It's... because I'm no good..." the girl whispered, averting her eyes. Naruto furrowed her brow.

"What do you mean, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder, feeling her flinch at the touch. "How could you not..."

"Because it's true!" Hinata shouted, pushing the hand away. "Everybody knows it too," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto murmured, unsure of how to proceed with this new side of Hinata.

"The Hyuuga clan is one of the most prestigious in the village and keeping that reputation is more important then anything to them... more important then their no talent daughter..." The girl was struggling with every word as if it took every last bit of her willpower just to speak them.

"You don't mean..." Hinata turned to her and smiled sadly.

"What's one daughter after all when you have another to take her place? One with enough talent to make her worth keeping around... It's okay though... Kurenai-sensei took me in so I didn't have to be all alone. Like you..." she whispered, voice choking on the last two words, her sad smile dissolving away. "I was always watching you Naruto-chan. I always wanted to talk to you, to keep you company... but I felt so worthless. I never worked up the courage to talk to you and because of that you were in so much pain. That's why I'm no..." the words caught in her throat as Naruto's arms slipped around her shoulders, a hand pressing her head down onto the blonde's shoulder.

"Tsunade Oba-san was right Hinata... you really are a sweet girl. You were suffering so much and still worried about an idiot like me... thank you." Hinata suddenly went stiff against her, erratic breaths beating against her neck. "Hinata?" The girl starting trembling so Naruto pulled away. "Hinata, what's wrong?" she noticed the girl was looking at something behind her.

"Hey Naruto, sorry to just come barging in but I just got back from..." Naruto turned to see Sakura stepping in from the darkness through the open window over her bed. The pink haired girl took a quick survey of the scene and turned away blushing. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! You told us we should always just come in but you're busy so..."

"Huh?" Naruto questioned before looking down and noticing she was only wearing a bra and a pair of shorts. With a yelp, she dove for the bed and snatched up the sheet to cover herself with. "No no, it's okay, Sakura-chan, we were just talking is all," Naruto said, wrapping an arm around Hinata's shoulder.

"You..." Hinata said, her voice so low and menacing that Naruto took a step back.

"Something wrong, Hinata?" Sakura asked, only to recoil at the sight of those pale eyes burning into her with more hatred then she'd imagined the demure girl was capable of. "Hinata..."


	3. Part One x Chapter Three

_**Kunoichi Love**_

_Part One - Chapter Three_

_**--**_

_**Moving forward...**_

_**--**_

_**-Hinata-**_

"Why are you here?!" Hinata screamed, glaring daggers into the pink haired girl. "Are you here to tease her some more? Mock her? Call her trash like you always used to? Or are you going along with your new little torture of making her think she has a chance just because your precious Sasuke is gone?! Well?! Which is it?!" she shrieked. Sakura, wide eyed and mouth agape, took a few steps back.

"Hinata I..."

"Shut up! I've seen the way you've treated him and you should be ashamed of yourself! All he ever wanted was for someone to love and accept him and you could have easily given that to him. But no, you laughed at his feelings, laughed at his loneliness, and laughed at his desperation! You knew he was in love with you and you used that to make him feel even worse... and then you did something even more despicable..."

"Hinata, what... what are talking about? Sakura... she's always been my..." Naruto started, tears in her eyes. Hinata shook her head and ignored the blonde, taking a few slow steps toward the pink haired girl.

"You started to like him... You saw Naruto-kun's amazing strength and determination, saw how wonderful he was... but still you treated his feelings like they were garbage. And for what? Someone who obviously never felt the same about you! Sometimes I wonder if you and Ino were ever really serious in the first place..." She fell to her knees and clutched at Sakura's shorts. "You had someone so wonderful all to yourself and you did nothing. You could have ended his pain if you'd just given in to your feelings... did what I was too afraid to attempt... but you didn't." Hinata went quiet for a long while before she spoke again, so quiet that it was barely audible. "I... I saw what you did at the hospital," she murmured, tear filled pale eyes glaring up at the stunned girl.

"That was just..." the words died in Sakura's throat as Hinata's words echoed through her mind. She turned away.

"Naruto-chan deserves someone that loves her completely... someone better than you." At this she collapsed onto the floor and curled into a ball, all her nerve having been spent. '_Naruto-chan... please don't hate me...'_ She could hear a few muffled words pass between the two followed shortly by a door opening and closing. The tears came all too easy as the fear that she'd just ruined the best thing that had ever happened to her consumed her heart. The last few days with Naruto had been like a dream. With the blonde in her new form it had been easier to keep her nerves at bay. She'd even found herself growing attached to the look and feel of not only the girl's body, but her personality as well. "I'm so..." The words caught in her throat as a pair of strong arms slid beneath her and lifted her off the floor.

"You did nothing wrong, Hinata-chan," Naruto whispered, carrying the girl over to the bed and setting her down gently.

"Naruto-chan... I thought you'd left," Hinata murmured. The blonde smiled, leaning down to place a light kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks for standing up for me like that, feels good to know you care about me so much. I mean, I'm sad everyone's feelings were hurt and all but... I learned something really good," Naruto said, giggling mischievously behind her hand.

"O-oh?"

"This really cute girl has a crush on me," she said, a rather fox like grin appearing on her lips. Hinata's heart fell.

"Oh... you didn't know Sakura had started to like you?" she asked miserably. Naruto moved her face in real close, causing the shy girl to swallow nervously.

"I wasn't talking about Sakura," she whispered, kissing the near trembling girl on the cheek before pulling back and grinning.

"Naruto-chan..."

"Wait, you do still like me even though I got these things, right?" she asked, pointing at her breasts and bouncing a little. Face aflame, she managed to nod. "Good! I guess that means we should do it like the girls in Ero-Sanin's books then? Do you want to be the naughty nurse or the busty teacher's assistant?" the blonde asked, fiddling with the straps of her bra behind her back.

"Naruto-chan!"

_**-Naruto-**_

Naruto let out a long sigh as she wandered the streets of the city in the early morning. The night before had ended up great, talking and even crying with Hinata long into the night and eventually drifting off to sleep together. It was the first time they'd shared the bed and it gave her butterflies every time she thought about the feeling of the shy girl's arm draped over her waist like it had been when she'd woken up. Hinata had awakened too, not long after, and in her adorable sputtering and blushing way, took off in a hurry to Kurenai's house to report something. The sigh was soon replaced with a frown as the happy thoughts drifted into memory.

"So strange," she muttered to herself, lifting her thin, smooth hand up to her face to caress her equally smooth cheek. It felt so different, so alien, and yet... so comfortable at the same time. The changes to her body were just scratching the surface too, the other things were much more confusing. She knew she'd always been sensitive to how others treated her but having spent a large portion of the night before crying over the things Sakura had done to her really put it into perspective. The newfound sensitivity and, even more surprisingly, the comfort that came with it were definitely confusing, but welcome all the same. It almost felt like she didn't need to hold back anymore, like she could say and do as she pleased and enjoy it. Her time spent with Hinata had definitely shown her that much.

_'Hinata...'_ Irritably, she kicked a can that lay in the road in front of her, pausing for a moment when she thought she'd heard a yelping sound come from the other side of the bushes where it had sailed. Not hearing anything else, she shrugged and turned onto the main street. _'If only I knew how crappy you had it too... maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much time on...'_ She shook her head to clear away the angry thoughts. Unfortunately the image of the pink haired girl returned to her mind. _'Damn Sakura...'_ She felt herself sniffle a few times. _'Maybe I should slap her once for all the mean things she did to me... but then she has been really nice to me lately, even if it was for shitty reasons...'_ She pulled at her twin tails in frustration, thoughts of Hinata and Sakura swirling together into one big confusing mess.

"Naruto?" a voice questioned from the side. She looked up to see that her pacing had taken her to her favorite Ramen stand. "I'll be damned, it is you! Come and have a seat my boy... err.. girl!" She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Ossan, surprised you recognized me," she said, taking her usual seat.

"The Fourth told me all about it, hard to forget my best customer. How you getting on?"

"Not too bad actually, got someone teaching me how to do things. It's a pain in the ass getting used to some of the stuff but I think I've got through worse."

"Good, good. So, what'll you have?"

"I'll take the usual of course but with double meat!" she said excitedly, reaching for her waist pouch only to curse upon realizing she'd forgotten to bring it with her.

"Forgotten your coupon again?" the old man asked with a laugh. She scratched at the back of her head with her trademark grin for a moment before the memory struck her. Unzipping the front of her jacket a bit she began fishing around in her bra, retrieving the coupon she stashed there and holding it in front of her like it was some kind of treasure. The man looked at it skeptically for a moment before bursting into laughter. Blushing furiously, she tried her best to glare at him.

"Oh shut up, they're good for more than just looking at!" she said, recovering from her embarrassment with a grin. The man took the coupon and turned around to go to work preparing.

"Oi, where's Ayame at today?" she asked, thumping idly on the counter in anticipation.

"That girl's been holed up in the basement for a few days, won't tell me what she's doing either... but I'm not too worried. Last time she did this she came up with the Diet Ramen and business was great!" An image of Hinata scolding her about her eating habits suddenly popped into her head and she rubbed the back of neck nervously.

"Um... ossan?"

"Something wrong?" the man asked, glancing curiously at the suddenly nervous girl.

"Could you switch my order to a Diet Ramen?" The bowel the man had been holding fell to the floor with a crash. The man, ignoring the shattered bowel, leaned out over the counter to look up into the air.

"Oi', what the hell are you..."

"He's probably checking to see if the sky is falling," a voice Naruto had been dreading to hear called out from behind her. Slowly, she turned to see Sakura standing there with her hands behind her back, a sad smile on her face. "It's not every or... any day really that you hear Uzumaki Naruto order a diet meal."

"Sakura-chan..." The man seemed to pick up on the tension and promptly ended his gag to go about cleaning and preparing the order.

"I know I'm probably not your favorite person right now..." she said, lowering her eyes. "The way I treated you... I'd like to say I was just young and stupid but there's really no excuse for it." She took a few steps forward and pulled a long box from behind her back. "I know it probably doesn't mean much considering... but I really am sorry for what I've done and I'd like to start making up for that." Naruto took the box from the girl's trembling fingers and opened it to reveal an expertly crafted flower arrangement. A flicker of a smile crossed her face as she sat the flowers down but was gone by the time she returned her gaze to the pink haired girl.

"You really hurt me, Sakura. I was in love with you... I would have done anything just to make you smile at me and you treated me like crap because of it." The girl stood so the two of them were face to face. "You really think some flowers are going to just make up for all that?" The pink haired girl flinched as if she'd been slapped. Naruto's narrow eyes softened after a moment as she leaned in to kiss the girl's cheek. "They're pretty and all but you know I'd rather have some good food any day!" Sakura turned, eyes wide to take in the blonde's grinning face.

"Oh, Naruto!" she shouted, leaping forward to wrap her arms around the girl, pressing her face into the blonde's neck. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, I really am!"

"I know Sakura-chan..." the blonde said quietly, rubbing the sobbing girl's back. "You know, this really emotional stuff isn't so bad. Even an idiot like me can get the hang of it." Sakura laughed a little and pulled away, wiping at her face with her hand.

"You're going to make a wonderful Kunoichi, Naruto."

"I've got a kick ass teacher, ya know." Sakura's smile faltered for a second before returning.

"Hinata's a wonderful girl... she... she really opened my eyes last night. Do you think you could thank her for me?"

"Sure thing, but why don't you..." She shook her head.

"You've still got a lot to learn. It'd be best if I gave her some space for a while." The blonde frowned, but nodded.

"If you say so."

"You'll understand soon enough, I'm sure. Just... be good to her Naruto, don't waste good friendship like I have," Sakura said somberly, a faraway look on her face.

"You want some Ramen? I only had one coupon but I'll split it with you."

"No thanks, I should probably get going. I've got some stuff to do now and then I'm going out with Ino later. I'll... see you later I guess," she said backing away a few steps before turning and jogging off down the street.

"Here's your order," the owner called out from behind her.

"Going out..." she mused as she turned and sat down, disappointment filling her at the sight of her meal. "Ossan... what's this? Where's the meat?"

"You asked for Diet Ramen." She groaned as she poked through the skimpy portion of thin noodles that lacked all of her favorite toppings.

"Forget everything I said... getting used to this is going to be freaking impossible!"

_**-Hinata-**_

Blushing bright red and practically trembling with embarrassment, Hinata made her way from Kurenai's home to Naruto's. It wasn't the first time she had stumbled upon her surrogate mother in an embarrassing situation but seeing as she'd been coming from her own it had all mixed together to become doubly unnerving. Still, it was heartwarming to see how happy the simple pleasure of company could make someone. Even she had gotten a small taste of it during her days spent with the perky blonde, especially this morning when they had woken up together. The pale eyed girl felt her cheeks burning even more as the memory drifted through her mind.

"Naruto-chan..." she murmured, knees beginning to quiver as she recalled how smooth and soft the other girl's stomach had felt beneath her hand. She chewed her lip as an all too familiar urge began building up in the depths of her stomach. Being in such close proximity to the object of her affection was taking a terrible toll on the shy girls reserve. She was beginning to change and she knew it. Slowly but surely she was becoming more and more daring with her affections and the blonde had been nothing but welcoming to them. In the end she didn't know what scared her more, the idea that she might actually be able to work up the courage to express her feelings, or that they may very well be accepted.

"Hinata-chan, is that you?" a voice that was burned into her heart called out. Looking around herself she realized that she'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed she'd made it back to her temporary home.

"Um, I just got back from Kurenai-sensei's..."

"Everything okay?" the blonde asked, stepping from the bathroom wearing nothing but a much too small towel. Hinata's first urge was to blush and turn away but the days she'd spent with the girl had given her enough willpower to keep looking, the blush was simply unavoidable.

"Yes, I just..." the words faded as the girl pulled off the towel and used it to rub furiously at her soaking hair. "Naruto-chan... you should... you..."

"Hmm?" the blonde murmured, continuing the motion unheeded until satisfied, only to toss the towel back into the bathroom behind her instead of putting it back on.

"N-Nothing," the pale eyed girl murmured, trying to look at anything but the beautiful naked blonde in front of her, which proved difficult as Naruto not only did nothing to seek cover, but walked straight up her and stood with her hands behind her back.

"Umm, Hinata-chan... I've been thinking and... well... do you wanna go out tonight?" All breath left her lungs as she stumbled back against the door.

"G-Go.. o-out?" she managed to stammer after a while. The blonde seemed to be enjoying the reaction she'd created and stepped a little closer, placing one hand on the door and leaning in real close.

"You know, the two of us, spending some time together outside. We've been cooped up in here long enough, don't you think?"

"Naruto-chan..." She leaned in closer, so close that the pale eyed girl could feel their chests pressing together and smell the scent of the soap on her skin. "Naruto-chan..."

"Hmm?" Naruto murmured suggestively as her thoughts scrambled to keep up with the situation.

_'How... how does she know how to do this to me! I... I can't... so embarrassed but.. I...'_ The next thing I knew a pair of surprised bright blue eyes were mere inches from mine. '_Oh no... oh no oh no oh no!' _My thoughts went rampant at the realization that I had leaned forward and kissed her. No accidental bump caused by a springy bed, it had been me that did it. _'What am I doing?! I can't be kissing her... so soft... I'm supposed to be the shy one... so warm... the one that never does anything... so perfect... the one who's always alone...' _ I pulled away, lips trembling as nervous tears streaked down my cheeks.

"Hinata-chan..." I sidled around her and made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door behind me and bracing my back against it. I pressed my fingers to my lips, unsure whether I should cry out in joy or just plain cry. I couldn't hear it over my heart beating in my ears but I could feel the knocks she placed against the door. "I'm confused Hinata-chan..." My heart stopped, the fear that I'd done something so wrong seizing me. "That was a yes, right?" Her words struck me in such a strange way that I did something I never would have expected given the situation. I started to laugh. "Hinata-chan?"

_'I did promise that I'd try to be a little bit braver... didn't I... Kurenai-sensei?'_ I leaned my head back against the door, an unfamiliar calm washing over me as I remembered seeing how happy the only woman I recognized as my mother had been because of the simple pleasure company could offer... and how I'd felt much the same waking up next to the beautiful blonde that had held my heart for so many years. I stood, and turned, taking a deep breath before opening the door to take in the nervously smiling girl.

"I'd love to..." I said, lowered my eyes, blushing, and pressing my fingertips together, "...go out with you... Naruto-chan..."

**END NOTES:**

Not much to say about this one, I had to claw my way through this third part and I'm not entirely happy with the result. Part Two was the main reason I even started up this project and is far superior in just about every way. Still, please drop me a few comments to tell me what you think, I'd like to know if I'm just being too critical of myself like always. ^_^


	4. Part Two x Chapter One

**Quick Note:** And so we enter Part Two and a much MUCH easier pairing to write for! This should also give you a decent idea of how I'm going blend the different Parts together. Enjoy some Ino x Sakura goodness! ^_^

**Kunoichi Love**

_Part Two – Chapter One_

_**--**_

_**The pain I cause...**_

_**--**_

_**-Sakura-**_

I glared at the miserable reflection that stared back at me from the mirror. Its tousled hair and puffy eyes from crying half the night combining to create such a pitiful image that I could hardly bear to look it. To make matters worse I knew there was nobody to blame but myself for the state I was in. Of all the people I'd ever expected to be put in my place by, Hinata had to be damn near the bottom of the list and unfortunately for me it wasn't only surprising... but it had been blisteringly accurate as well. The normally shy girl had painted an ugly picture for me to look at, one I really wasn't sure how to fix.

_'I can't believe I'd let myself become so self centered and petty... and for what? I don't even know anymore... but I need to apologize to Naruto...' _ It was an ugly thought. _'I don't even know how you'd apologize for something like that!'_ "Hey Naruto, sorry I toyed with your emotions for all those years only to start leading you on with false hopes because I became lonely and confused after the person I thought I liked ran away and became a jerk hell bent on destroying us," I said mockingly to my reflection before rolling my eyes. _'Yeah, I'm sure that'd go over real well...'_ Thankfully, my self pity was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Sakura?" came my mother's voice.

"Yeah Mom?"

"When you're done could you stop by the Yamanaka's shop and pick up some of those new lilies for the walkway?" she asked. The idea shot through me like a thunderbolt.

"Flowers! That's it!" I shouted triumphantly. "Some flowers and an honest apology would be a great place to start!" With the new plan in mind my spirit was renewed and I was on my way... only to stop two steps from the door upon remembering how ragged I looked. So, after a shower, some vigorous hair brushing, and a little makeup to cover the bags under my eyes, I was on my way for real.

_**-Ino- **_

As had become routine; I was currently behind the desk in the lobby of the flower shop, leaned back in my chair and using one propped up leg to slowly rock myself back and forth. For entertainment I had the exciting prospects of... drumming my fingers idly away on my stomach or blowing at the lock of the hair that fell in front of my face. I think it's pretty safe to say that I was... had been bored, and miserable when I stop and think about it, for months. First the number of mission requests had started to drop off when it had become obvious that my fighting skills were nowhere near the rest of my class. This combined with the increase of missions for the others left me with nobody to talk to most of the time. Even more painful was that with Sasuke gone the excuses to get Sakura all riled up had all but disappeared. _ 'Sakura...' _ The mere thought of the pink haired kunoichi brought a sad smile to my face. _'So much lost time... so many regrets...'_

"Ino?"

_'How pathetic, I'm so lonely I'm even hearing her voice in my head.'_

"Ino, are you okay?" her sweet voice came again. I turned to see Sakura standing at the other side of the desk with a curious look on her face.

_'Just look at her there, how could I have been so...'_ Realizing that I was, in fact, staring at the real Sakura caused me to jerk in surprise, an action I wouldn't recommend when you're bracing yourself on one leg. I was promptly sent topping over backwards with a squeaked "Sakura!" on the way down. _ 'Oh yeah, that was smooth...'_ I thought to myself bitterly from where I lay, wishing I could simply lay there forever and not have to face the other girl amid all the embarrassment.

"Ino-chan are you okay?!" Sakura shouted, leaping over the desk to stand over me.

_'She called me Ino-chan...'_ Mistaking my silence for injury, Sakura quickly formed a few Seals and placed her hands on the sides of my head to allow her healing chakra to flow into me. _ 'So warm...' _I can't be sure but I think I let out a quiet whimper from the connection.

"That should do it," Sakura gasped, slightly out of breath from the transfer. "Are you okay, Ino?" she asked, offering her hand to me. I was a little disappointed by the loss of the honorific and the severing of the connection but, nevertheless, took the girl's hand. As if I hadn't embarrassed myself enough already, I let out a rather loud yelp of surprise when Sakura easily pulled me up with the single hand, causing me to stumble into the girl's waiting arms.

_'She's so... powerful...'_ I had to fight down a shudder as a familiar wave of emotions washed over me. I found myself ever so slightly stroking my fingertips across the front of Sakura's shoulders where I'd braced myself. _'I've gotten a lot taller than her though... I'd have to lean down to...'_ Blushing slightly at the wandering thought, I stepped back from the other girl and took a deep breath to steady myself. "Thank you... Sakura-chan, I've been so clumsy lately."

"Ah, no worries, Ino. Are you feeling okay though?" I put on my prettiest smile and nodded. "Good," Sakura said, then began to fidget a little as an awkward silence settled over us.

"So, what brings you here?" I asked to clear it.

"Oh, nothing much, my Mom heard you have some new kind of lily and she wanted me to pick some up."

"Oh..." I murmured, slightly crestfallen that she'd actually come to the flower shop to purchase flowers.

"Something wrong?" I shook my head.

"No, just thinking about something else. Yeah, we've still got some in stock, they're over here in the back," I managed with a bright smile, one which melted the instant I turned around. _ 'Stupid... did you really think she'd come here to see you? You're second rate fodder and she's an apprentice to the Hokage...'_

"Oh wow! They're beautiful!" Looking up upon Sakura's exclamation I realized I'd actually managed to lead the girl to the flowers she was looking for. As she stepped forward to admire them I had the chance to really look Sakura over. I noted that the pink haired girl had gained a fair amount of weight but it was in all the right places, serving to fill out her curves rather nicely. It wasn't long before I found myself lost in a daydream as I watched the other girl, feelings I had tried so hard to bury came bubbling to the surface all too easily and stronger than I remembered them ever being.

"So beautiful..." I said, clapping a hand to my mouth when I realized I'd spoken out loud.

"They really are! I'll take... three dozen." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, sure thing," I said sadly, realizing that I was about to be left alone again, only to perk up as an idea struck me. "If you'd like I could package them up and bring them to your house for you?"

"No, that's okay."

"Are you sure? No charge or anything!" I continued, a hint of desperation showing through my guard.

"I appreciate it, but no thanks."

"Never mind then," I said quietly, hanging my head slightly as I began collecting the most beautiful of what we had in stock to fill Sakura's order.

"Um... Ino, there is one other thing..."

"Yes?" I asked, suddenly hopeful as I whirled around to face the girl. It was obvious that whatever it was, was making the girl nervous because she couldn't stop fidgeting and was unable to meet my gaze. _ 'It couldn't be...'_

"I wanted to get something for a really close friend. I... she's someone that's come to really mean a lot to me. I've been selfish... and up until now I didn't even realize how badly I've been ignoring her feelings..." My heart was practically beating out of my chest. "Ino, do you think you..."

_'Oh you sweet beautiful girl... you really do care. I thought I was all alone but you...'_

"...could help me pick out something for Naruto?" The flower I'd been holding fell to the ground as a stabbing pain shot through my chest, I could feel a single tear slide off my cheek to follow the lily to the ground. "Ino? Is something wrong?" With every last bit of willpower I could muster I formed a fake smile and turned away quickly before it could falter.

"How about you just take another dozen lilies, I'm sure he... she would love them," I managed, ducking down to collect the fallen flower an instant before my resolve could break.

"That's a great idea! Thanks Ino!"

"Just doing my job..." I said evenly, biting my lip to keep from crying out in misery. I managed to finish picking out the flowers and arrange them in separate boxes, being sure to keep my back to the pink haired girl as much as possible. When finished I took several deep breaths and forced the smile back onto my face before turning and handing the bundles to her. "That'll be fifty for the set, you can just leave it on the table, I have something I need to take care of in the back," I said quickly, spinning on my heel to walk away only to be stopped by a strong yet still so delicate hand on my shoulder. Try as I might, I couldn't help the soft whimper that escaped my lips as silent tears began to fall.

"Ino, are you okay? You seem sad or something..." Unable to turn around and face her, I simply shook my head.

"Don't worry about me Sakura, you've got to get those flowers delivered, right?" I said, voice quivering as the tears began to fall harder. The hand removed itself and I hurriedly walked to the door that lead to the stockroom and flung it open.

"I guess so... thanks again Ino!" the pink haired girl called out just before the door closed behind me. Dropping slowly to my knees, I wrapped my arms around my waist and allowed my resolve to break.

"Stupid Ino... stupid and weak! No wonder they all abandoned you, you're pathetic! Clinging all over her like some desperate loser, she probably thinks you're crazy..." Several months of bitter loneliness came bubbling to the surface, causing me to cling to myself tighter and tighter in hopes of staving off the heartache. Time seemed to fade into the background as I gradually felt my body going numb as I squeezed myself harder and harder . By the time a pair of arms, so strong but still so delicate, slid around my waist and under my legs to lift me off the ground I was barely conscious of my surroundings. Still, it felt so safe in those arms that I allowed my head to fall against the form that held me... and then... all I could do was cry.

_**-Sakura-**_

I hadn't taken two steps out of the flower shop before something deep within my chest told me that I needed to go back. Reentering the store, I made my way to the door Ino had went through. When I'd come within a few steps of it I could hear some low noises coming from within. Curious, I pressed an ear to the cool metal, eyes going wide when I realized what the sound was.

_'She's... crying? I knew something was wrong... but what could it be? She looked fine when I showed up but she was acting strange after... after she fell and hit her head! She probably really hurt herself and didn't want me to feel bad about causing it!' _Intent on apologizing, I opened the door and stepped into the darkness of the room. "Ino, I'm so sorry I..." the words trailed off as I took in the state of the girl. My heart, the thing that had told me that something was wrong, let out an agonized wail at the sight of the brokenhearted girl. _'Ino-chan...'_ My body seemed to move of it's own accord, stepping forward and lifting the sobbing girl into my arms. "I've hurt you too and I didn't even realize it..." I sniffled, tears of my own beginning to fall as I cradled the girl tightly to my chest and for several minutes, the silence was broken only by our quiet sobs.

"S-Sa-Sakura?" she managed through a fit of hiccups. Her whole body seemed to go rigid and for a second I was afraid she'd try to break away. "Y-You came back... for me?" The desperately hopeful look on her face was too much for my shame to bear. I clutched her tighter to my chest, pressing my face into the river of blonde hair.

"I'm so sorry Ino... I'm so sorry I didn't notice you were hurting!" I cried into the silken blonde tresses. I could feel Ino's arms slip around my neck and relished in the comfort they offered.

"I... I was so lonely Sakura-chan. All of you..." she paused for several hiccups to pass, "all of you got so strong. But I didn't and... and the missions stopped being offered. You all became so important and I... I didn't have anybody!" she wailed, burying her face deep into the crook of my neck. Things seemed to settle into an easy calm, both of us simply holding the other and drinking in the comfort of the embrace. Slowly but surely allowing the sadness to fade away.

"Not anymore, Ino-chan... I swear I'm not going to let you be lonely anymore," I whispered after the worst of it had passed. I gave the blonde a reassuring squeeze for emphasis before easing her down to the ground.

"You really mean that, Sakura-chan?" Ino sniffed, keeping her arms around my neck despite being on her own feet. I gave her the brightest smile I could manage and nodded.

"Let's go out tonight and spend some time together, eat dinner or something, it'll be just like..."

"Hello! Is anybody here?" someone called from within the shop. Ino, almost seeming reluctant, pulled away from me and frantically started to smooth out her dress.

"Oh a customer... and I'm a mess!" the blonde whined, wiping at her tear stained cheeks and running her fingers through her hair. "How do I look?" I paused in wiping at my own cheeks to take in the frazzled and puffy eyed girl.

"Like a working girl who's had a few too many." Ino's eyes went wide with shock and I couldn't help but giggle.

"I hate you!" Ino shouted, smacking me playfully on the arm.

"Relax, you look fine," I said, taking Ino's hand and pulling her out the door, managing to plant my face right into Tsunade's cleavage as she had been about to knock.

"Well, at least the service was worth the wait!" the woman chuckled as I managed to push myself free and stumble backward, sputtering breathlessly.

"Now who's the working girl?" Ino whispered cattily, my cheeks taking on a furious blush. "So, what brings you here Hokage-sama?" Ino asked the woman, who was looking back and forth between the two of us suspiciously.

"Oh nothing much, just a single red rose, preferably without thorns, for a certain someone's... um... uh..."

"Birthday?" Ino offered with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, let's go with that!"

"Oh?" I questioned suspiciously after recovering, what I'm sure was a rather nasty grin spreading across my face. "Should Ino wrap it for you or just tuck it into your cleavage now and save you the trouble?" Ino tried and failed to disguise a giggle as a series of coughs. I'd heard enough flirtatious comments around the office that were enough to give even me a nosebleed so I knew full well what the rose was for. Tsunade's eyes narrowed into a glare even as a hint of a blush crept across her cheeks.

"Well, I take it you're volunteering for that new toilet cleaning mission that just came in. I'll just go ahead and sign you up for it, ne?" the woman countered, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"Oh you must have misheard me Tsunade-sama, I was simply commenting on how lovely you look today!" I said sweetly.

"Ah, I see. Why thank you Sakura," the woman said, all three of us sharing a quick laugh.

"Oh! It's good that you're here actually, I was just going in to ask you if I could take the day off, it's really important!" I pleaded.

"I have... plans myself so I don't see why not."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama! You're the best!"

"That I am," she said with a chuckle before her eyes hardened somewhat and flicked between to two of us. "Is everything okay now?" she asked seriously. Ino bit her lip and turned away, using the pretense of trimming the rose the woman had ordered. Thinking for a moment, I stepped forward and nodded.

"It will be."

"Good. Just remember that if you girls ever need to talk to a caring and well adjusted older woman..."

"Find Kurenai-sensei and ask her?" I asked with a giggle.

"Bingo!" Tsunade said, taking her trimmed rose from Ino and dropping some money on the table. "Beautiful as always Yamanaka-san."

"It's nothing special..."

"That's not true, you have a beautiful gift that I think any girl could appreciate." This brought a rather adorable blush to the blonde's cheeks. "Well, I'd best be off," she said, turning and heading for the doorway, calling out, "don't have too much fun!" over her shoulder just as she exited onto the street.

"To think that woman is the leader of us all..." Ino said quietly.

"Yeah... we are so lucky!" We shared a giggle that slowly died down into an awkward silence. I stood fidgeting nervously for a few moments until noticing my bundles on the floor. "Well, I guess I should go drop off those lilies and take care of a few things."

"Um... when should we...?" I couldn't help but notice that Ino seemed incredibly nervous.

"I guess I'll come by around six o'clock, would that be okay? We could get something to eat and then do something around town maybe?" I asked, collecting the boxes and moving towards the entrance.

"That sounds wonderful... Sakura-chan. I'll be waiting for you," Ino said dreamily, gazing into my eyes with such burning adoration that I had to turn away. Waving over my shoulder I made my way onto the street and back towards my house to drop off the flowers for mother first, figuring it would give me some time to prepare a decent apology for Naruto.

Still, I couldn't help but think that I had missed some important detail about what had just happened. But what could go wrong, we were just two friends planning to hang out...

**End Notes:**

Easier characters, more cozy POV, and I pulled most of it from dreams (where the best of my writing comes from) of the two of them together. This was like a breath of fresh air after all the troubles Part One gave me. ^_^

Please tell me what you think of this compared to Part One. The difference in POV and whatnot make for a very different feel and I'd like to know where my strengths are. Thank you so much for all your support!


	5. Part Two x Chapter Two

**Kunoichi Love**

_Part Two - Chapter Two_

_**--**_

_**Misconceptions...**_

_**--**_

_**-Ino- **_

"Sakura asked me out on a date!" I squealed to my reflection for the hundredth time in the past few hours as I retouched my hair and makeup to make sure everything was perfect. Finally satisfied, I took a step back to admire the finished product. I had traded in my normal blue combat style dress for a more elegant and streamlined one, keeping to the color to help accentuate my eyes. After some hesitation I'd even donned a pair of high heels because, I reasoned, you're ass could never look too good and I was certainly aiming to impress. My hair I'd left mostly unchanged albeit for a bit more flair and a small pink lily which I had tucked next to my forelock. To complete the outfit was a pair of blue orb earrings, the last present Sakura had given me before our falling out. Giving everything a final once over I deemed it acceptable and went to the living room to wait.

By the time six o'clock came rolling around I had blushed myself silly imagining every possible romantic situation I could think of. I'd narrowed the date down to sushi at the new place that had just opened and either a show at the kabuki theater or a moonlit walk around the lake, whichever Sakura preferred would be fine with me. The minutes were quickly wearing on and more than once the idea that I had missed some important detail had crept up to make me even more nervous. When the knock at the door finally came I had to fight down a squeal of joy. Hurrying as fast as my heels would allow I threw open the door to catch the first glimpse of my beautiful pink haired kunoichi... wearing the exact same worn and frayed sleeveless vest and shorts she had been in earlier...

_ 'What have I done...'_

_**-Sakura- **_

"Hey Ino sorry I'm a little late I... what are you wearing?!" I shouted in amazement as I looked the blonde up and down. My initial shock first turned into admiration for the girl's incredible figure and then, slowly... into understanding. The look of sheer horror that had taken over Ino's face was like a knife through my heart.

_ 'What have I done...'_

"You said you wanted to go out... I thought you meant... I thought you wanted to... oh god I'm such an idiot!" Ino shouted, trying to slam the door. I was just able to get an arm inside in time to stop it and wormed my way into the house.

"Ino, wait!" I called out to the retreating figure, cursing myself for being so blind to all the signals. "It's not your fault it's mine, I'm the idiot!" I managed to catch up with the girl and get my arms around her slim waist. "I never thought you'd feel that way about me, Ino! If I had... if I had I'd... you look so beautiful Ino-chan." My eyes went wide at the admission as it hadn't been at all what I was planning to say.

"You're just saying that!" Ino shouted, trying to wriggle free. "You think I'm a desperate loser!"

"No!" I shouted back, tightening my grip on the girl and pulling her in tightly to my chest. "You're not a desperate loser Ino-chan, you're just lonely and I'm... I'm too blind to see what I've been looking for even when it's right in front of me," I said, surprising myself once more with the honesty coming through in my words. Sighing deeply, I pressed my cheek against Ino's shoulders and breathed in the scent of flowers that always surrounded the blonde. Ino let out a sigh of her own and relaxed into the embrace.

"I think I've felt something for you since we were kids... even though I didn't know what it was. Back when you were my sweet little forehead-girl," Ino said, her voice blending sadness with a hint of joy. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift through my own memories. Seeing how Ino had taken care of me, how she had helped me to become my own person... she'd been so wonderful to me. I frowned as a darker thought passed through the haze of fond memory.

"What about Sasuke?" I asked, feeling Ino tighten up in my arms at the question.

"That was the worst day of my life when you told me you liked that jerk. You had already been growing a little distant from me by then so I did the only thing I could to keep you in my life. Even if it was just antagonizing you it meant I still got to be with you in some way. I know it's pathetic but it was all I could do..."

"So you never really liked him at all?" Ino was quiet for a long time before breaking it with a small laugh.

"Maybe a little, but I don't think it had anything to do with him really... it was his power. If you can believe it I actually felt the same about Naruto after seeing the things he was capable of. Maybe I'm just one of those girls that are attracted to incredible people..." Ino slipped her hands over mine and laced our fingers together. "Which means I've got it doubly bad for you, Sakura-chan," she whispered, causing my cheeks to flush.

"I-I'm nothing special..." Ino tugged lightly at my hands so she could turn around in the embrace, pressing her forehead to mine.

"You're absolutely incredible," she whispered. "I used to watch you train with Tsunade-sama whenever I wasn't busy," she continued, shivering slightly as she closed her eyes, no doubt dwelling in the memories, "and just earlier when you were holding me at the shop... so powerful yet still so deliciously feminine..." The blonde began trailing her fingers up and down my bare arms. "Just thinking about you makes me weak in the knees," she finished opening her eyes and giving me a wink before feigning a loss of balance falling against me.

"I have to admit," I murmured as I caught the 'falling' girl around the waist, "it did feel pretty wonderful to hold you like that." I'm sure my face was three shades darker than my hair after the admission. Everything seemed to catch up with me at once and I eased away from the other girl with a sigh. "This is all so much to take in..." The joy that had been glowing in Ino's eyes dimmed slightly for a moment before she managed to perk up.

"I understand, Sakura-chan, I really do. Having you fall in love with me all at once is a wonderful dream but I'm more than prepared to work for it in the real world. I think you remember how stubborn I can be so don't be expecting me to give up on us anytime soon. That is... if you want there to be an us..." Ino whispered, turning away when no response seemed forthcoming. I couldn't fight down another sigh as the situation assaulted me.

_ 'What am I supposed to do here? I know I want her as a friend but... I really think I'm attracted to her too. Just look at how beautiful she is...'_ I thought as I slowly trailed my eyes up and the blonde's body. _'She did all that for me... to make me happy.'_ I was slightly surprised to find the desire to take the girl into my arms again was almost overwhelming. _'She felt so... soft, so delicate. She really is like the flowers she cares for, beautiful, yet so fragile at the same time. So beautiful...'_

"What's going on in your mind, Sakura-chan?" Ino asked, still unable to turn and face me. A bit of a catlike grin spread across my face.

"I was trying to think about what to do but I got stuck on how utterly gorgeous you are," I said honestly, a little giggle escaping my lips. Ino snorted. "I'm serious! I think we're more alike than we both realized. What I felt for Sasuke... it pretty much faded away into friendship after he was gone and attached itself to Naruto as he continued to grow and mature. But it was all so misplaced... Hinata showed me that..." I said quietly, trailing off as the memories of the pale eyed girl's speech returned.

"That doesn't mean you'd be interested in me... or even interested in any girl," Ino said. I noted she seemed less downcast than before.

"Oh I dunno, if I felt nothing for you I think I'd have been able to take my eyes off of your ass by now, but that sure as hell hasn't happened," I said, instantly wanting to slap myself for saying something so cheesy. Fortunately, it seemed to put the girl further at ease.

"Well it does look incredible in this dress and the heels certainly don't hurt things any," Ino responded, giving in and allowing herself to giggle.

"I'll say," I whispered, taking a few slow steps toward the blonde. "It's not just your body though... it's that same part of my heart that told me I needed to go back into the store earlier today. Seeing how heartbroken you were at the store, and then seeing how happy you looked when you first opened the door just now... it makes me all tingly inside just thinking about the effect we have on each other. I miss you Ino, I miss what we had before and I hate that it took breaking your heart twice for me to realize how much you mean to me..." I closed the remaining distance and put my hands on the girl's slim hips, feeling her shiver at the touch before sliding them forward to wrap around her waist again.

"If you keep holding me like this I'm going to get addicted," Ino teased.

"You saying you want me to stop," I teased back, feigning letting go.

"You do and I'll bite you, and not in the good way either!" Ino growled. My hands quickly returned and we shared a laugh.

"And what is the good way exactly?" I asked with embarrassment filled curiosity, to which Ino laughed even harder.

"I see someone hasn't read Jiraiya-sama's hentai novels."

"Well the new one was all sold out so I... oh shut up you!" I shouting as the blonde nearly doubled over with laughter. With a grin I pinched her sides, eliciting a surprised yelp from the girl. "I see somebody's ticklish, I'll have to remember to use that to my advantage. Like... now for instance!" I teased. Ino suddenly stiffened and pushed away so she could face me.

"Wait a second Sakura-chan, as much as I'd love to have you tickle me silly... and I would... a lot... you're fingers running all over my..." the blonde shook her head as she began to drift away. "We still have a date to go on! I made reservations at that new sushi place and... well, we need to go now... if you do want to go out with me..." she finished nervously.

"And miss the chance to show off the prettiest girl in Konoha?" It sounded so lame coming out but the blush and girlish giggle it brought out in Ino made my heart soar. "I do need to stop by my place though," I noted, gesturing at what I was wearing. "I'd feel like an idiot if I showed up in shorts." Ino looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head.

"There isn't time to go to your place but I think I might have something for you, wait here." Kicking off her heels the girl scurried upstairs and returned a few moments later with a pair of black cargo pants. "Probably a bit too long but I think they'll look cute on you," she said, tossing the pants at my face, using the momentary distraction to dart in pull my shorts down around my ankles. "Pink lace... it's like all my dreams are coming true!"

"Ino..." I managed as I removed the pants from my beet red face, "why is it that I'm less than surprised that you're such a pervert?"

"Because you secretly love it, now hurry up and put those pants on before I start looking for more pink colored things on your body..."

_**--**_

_**First dates...**_

_**--**_

**_-Ino-_**

"Would you stop fussing, you look great," I whispered under my breath in hopes of calming the fidgeting girl. It was obvious that the pink haired girl's hopes of quickly being seated to avoid attention had been dashed to bits as the place was running at full capacity, forcing them to have to wait in the also packed entrance.

"People are staring though..." the pink haired girl whined.

"They're just jealous because we both have hot dates and they're a bunch of losers."

"You're so mean, Ino-chan!" Sakura said, trying to look disappointed but only managing to convey a somewhat stern grin.

"Whatever happened to wanting to show off the prettiest girl in Konoha?" I asked, batting my eyelashes cutely.

"I was talking about me but I can hardly do that dressed like this," Sakura whispered cattily.

"You suck!" I squeaked, slapping the girl on the arm before turning away and huffing angrily. "Maybe I should just find a girl that would appreciate me! One with enough taste to show up dressed properly for a date! Someone like her... holy crap it's Tenten!" I shouted, pointing at a girl wearing a gorgeous, eastern style, red dress. I had to do a double take to make sure it really was the weapon addicted tomboy standing in front of me.

"Wow, she looks beautiful! Guess this means she finally landed Ne..." Sakura drifted off as Temari of all people broke through the crowd and stepped over to Tenten's side. The blonde then whispered something into the girls ear while placing her hand on the small of the girl's back in an almost possessive show of affection.

"Sakura-chan?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the obscure pair for an instant.

"Yeah, Ino, I'm seeing the same thing you are," Sakura responded, her eyes also glued to the two young women. "Wow, I wonder how they..." I was already on my feet and waving at them, Sakura slapped a hand to her forehead.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked upon noticing my date's reaction.

"You're lucky you're pretty... hey Tenten, hey Temari!" Sakura said brightly, her demeanor shifting gears almost instantly as the other girls arrived.

"Wow, Tenten, you look absolutely gorgeous! You should dress like that more often you adorable little tomboy you," I giggled, giving the nervous and blushing girl a quick hug. "Not at all like this lazy bum, can you believe she showed up wearing that vest and shorts for our date?!"

"Oh shut up, you're the one who wouldn't let me go change and then pulled that little reverse stripper ploy... which I really wish I hadn't brought up in this public place," Sakura said with a groan before recovering. "You really do look stunning Tenten, and you too of course Temari!" She blurted out, almost uncomfortably. Tenten, clearly as nervous as Sakura, blushed and smoothed out her dress.

"This old thing has been sitting in the back of my closet for months and I thought, what better time to pull it out then... then on our..."

"Our date," Temari said, slipping her arm around the girl's waist and eying us like we were a couple of potential thieves.

"I see. Well, you have got to..." I trailed off as the hostess approached us and bowed.

"My apologies for interrupting but there is a bit of a situation. As you can see we are at full capacity and are low on tables. I was wondering, since you all seem to know each other, if your two parties would be willing to share a table?"

"No problem from our side," I chimed happily.

"I don't have a problem with it," Tenten said quietly before turning to Temari who merely shrugged.

"Oh thank you so very much! Please, follow me." We followed the somewhat frantic woman to a table in the back of the restaurant and quickly placed our orders, leaving the table in an awkward silence that lasted for several minutes. Oddly enough, it was Temari who broke it...

"I didn't know Sakura was gay."

...by causing the pink haired girl to spit the sip of water she had taken right into my face.

"Wh-What?!" Sakura sputtered, then upon noticing what she'd done, quickly began to dab at my cheeks with her napkin.

"Temari, that's rude..." Tenten murmured.

"I'm just curious is all, if you liked girls than why did you turn down my offer, Sakura?"

"Oh god..." Sakura groaned, trying to hide her face in her hands.

"Oh ho! What's this?!" I shouted triumphantly. "Anything that can make my Sakura-chan this embarrassed has to be good!" I thought I saw a hint of a smirk cross the other blonde's lips for a moment before she began recanting the story.

"Well, Kankuro had been poisoned during Akatsuchi's attack on the Sand and nobody in the village was able to heal him so we were fearing the worst. Then Sakura arrived as part of a medical envoy and worked long into the night to cure him. To show my gratitude for saving my brother's life I offered to share my bed with her but she refused me."

"You turned down a night of love with the Sand Princess... for me?" I asked, adding in the last bit after throwing Sakura a mischievous wink.

"Well, you know me, ever the romantic," Sakura replied dully, managing to disguise a dirty look with a flickering smile.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Tenten cooed. "You really do make a beautiful couple, I can't believe I never saw it before!"

"Well, we did have our rough patches, but Ino's always held a really special place in my heart. Seeing her happy means the world to me..." Sakura finished quietly, a surge of warmth filling my heart when I realized she wasn't simply going along with the joke. She then turned to me and smiled, laying her hand on top of mine.

"Sakura-chan... why do you have to go and say something so sweet when I'm wearing eye liner," I whispered back, voice hitching slightly as tears welled up in my eyes. Reluctantly, I pulled my hand from underneath Sakura's and stood. "Sorry, I'm gonna go take care of this before I make a mess of myself."

"I'll join you," Tenten said, standing and leading me off to the washroom, leaving Sakura and Temari in awkward silence.

--

**END NOTES:**

Yet another future couple has been revealed! (If you've been paying close attention I've now hinted at four of the other Parts ^_^) Still not sure who I'm going to feature in Part Three so be sure to cast your vote and you might just get your wish!

As always, it'd be much appreciated if you dropped me a few words of encouragement or even criticism because I'm always looking to improve. Final chapter of Part Two will be out in a week or so hopefully!


	6. Prt Two x Chapter Three

**Note: Please look at the note at the top of my profile page before reading.  
**

-

**Kunoichi Love**

_Part Two - Chapter Three_

_**--**_

_**Trouble as usual...**_

_**--**_

_**-Sakura- **_

"So basically she fell on you and you told her you were horny and asked her out?" I asked, a bit shocked by the girl's bluntness.

"That's pretty much it. She's a wonderful girl though, frail, and a little clingy, but that just makes her even more of my type. I think I'm really starting to fall for her."

"I remember how you took it easy on her during the Chuunin Exam, knowing what I do now it's kind of romantic," I said quietly, grinning as the stoic blonde flushed a little.

"Well, knowing what I do now, your fight with Ino was both disturbing and erotic," she countered, causing me to choke on my water again.

"About that..."

"You haven't been together for very long, I'm not that gullible," she said bluntly, I let out a relieved breath.

"Just decided to take things further as of today actually. Already it feels so..."

"Natural?" Temari suggested knowingly. "You've stopped lying to your head and your heart... I know the feeling."

"It's really kind of exciting," I said quietly. "Seeing and..." I had to swallow over the lump in my throat, "feeling how her body and her mind have matured in the time we've spent apart is just... exhilarating!" Temari blinked.

"Feeling? So the two of you..." My eyes shot open and I quickly shook my head.

"No no no! I just held her a couple times... in really romantic ways now that I think about it," I murmured, almost to myself. Temari noticed the servers approaching and stood from the table.

"Well, while you think about that I'll go fetch our girls, who knows what kind of gossip they've been spreading in there..."

--

_**-Ino- **_

"So there I was, rolling off the side of the cliff with no way of stopping myself because something had hit me in the head and I was kinda dizzy..." I was staring at the girl in total awe as she relayed the story of how she'd ended up on a date with Temari. "...and the next thing I know I'm falling through the air about to smash into the ground! And then she comes out of nowhere, gliding in on the wind, and snatches me right out of the air!"

"That's incredible!" I gasped, Tenten nodded excitedly.

"I know! And then she was all, "it's not everyday that a beautiful woman like you falls into my arms, we should spend the evening together so as not to waste such good fortune."

"She actually said that?!"

"She did! From that moment on I was like putty in her hands... her surprisingly gentle hands..." Tenten said with a sigh of longing. "It's weird, you'd think a tough girl like her wouldn't have such soft hands but they feel like silk against my skin," another sigh, this one a little sad. "Not like me, I'm not strong at all and I have such ugly hands from all my training with weapons," the girl said quietly, tracing her fingertips across a few of the deeper scars that lined her palm.

"I... I know how you feel, I'm not strong either and my hands are all scarred from thorns and brambles while Sakura is the most powerful girl I know and her hands are flawless..." The two of us fell into a depressive silence for a few moments. "Sometimes I really hate how weak I am compared to everybody else from our group..." I bit my lip, I'd promised myself to avoid brooding about things, "but then I start to think that Sakura would protect me if I was ever in trouble and my heart practically sings!"

"That's so sweet... I'm sure she would too." Tenten opened her mouth to continue but stopped herself and turned away with a blush.

"What is it, you can tell me. No need to be shy in the ladies room, it's like a rule or something," I giggled, nudging the girl in the ribs.

"Don't you think strong women are just incredibly sexy?!" the girl blurted out, giggling nervously. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Girl, don't even get me started on that! I used to spy on Sakura training with Tsunade-sama..." I let out a low moan. "Let's just say I didn't have any trouble falling asleep on those nights!"

"That's so bad!" Tenten giggled.

"I know! But I couldn't help it! How about you? You fought Temari in the Chuunin Exams, didn't you?"

"Yeah... what about it?" the girl asked, fidgeting nervously.

"Well, were you soaking through your panties or what?" I asked teasingly only to stop cold at the look of sheer terror on the other girl's face.

"You saw! I thought I hid it so well!"

"I wasn't being..." I shook my head. "Don't worry hon, I'm sure nobody else noticed." _'And I thought I had it bad!'_

"I hope not, that'd be way too embarrassing! Oh crap, we should probably get back, our orders should be ready soon," the girl said, checking her hair one last time before heading towards the door.

"Hey Tenten... I'm really glad we bumped into each other here, you and I are a lot alike but we've never really had the chance to get to know each other. Friends?" I offered, holding my arms out for a hug

"Definitely friends!" Tenten cheered, throwing her arms around me.

"Oh, you've got a loose thread," I said, spotting the hanging strand over the girl's shoulder and reached down to tug at it. Not a second later the door swung open to admit Temari.

"Hey you two, the food is... what the hell is this?!" Temari shouted. I caught sight of our reflection and groaned inwardly, it looked like I was trying to get my hand up the hem of Tenten's dress.

"Umm... it's not what it looks like..." I managed, letting go of Tenten and cowering away from the imposing Sand kunoichi. _'Sakura-chan... save me!'_

**_--_**

**_Lost time..._**

**_--_**

**_-Ino-_**

"You protected me..." I said quietly as Sakura cupped my cheek, the warm glow of healing chakra flowing into my skin to seal the tiny scratch.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Sakura asked, taking a seat next to me on the bench.

"I'm worried..."

"You shouldn't be, Temari already agreed to take care of all of the damages and..." I stopped her with a giggle.

"Not that," I said, leaning my head on Sakura's shoulder. "I'm just scared because you've made so many of my dreams come true today. I'm so terrified that I'm going to wake up at the flower shop and see that this was all just some wonderful daydream..." Sakura was quiet for some time, simply staring at the still waters of the lake.

"Open your mouth."

"Okay, I'll... wait, what?" I sputtered as the request sank in. Sakura laughed.

"Just do it. Trust me."

"Okay..." I murmured nervously, doing as she asked. Sakura reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a small bundle, took something from it and popped it into my waiting mouth. Surprised, I recoiled and almost spit it out before my eyes widened at the wonderful flavor and began to chew.

"I managed to wrap up my order during the confusion. There's no way I'm letting my date go hungry."

"Oh, it's delicious!" I exclaimed after savoring the morsel for a few more moments. Sakura ate a piece herself and nodded her approval.

"It's too bad we're never welcome there again, this is some good stuff," Sakura said, a bit sadly.

"It's the company that makes it taste so good," I said, opening my mouth for another bite, making sure to brush my lips against Sakura's fingers when she placed it in. Sakura failed to disguise her gasp with a quick laugh.

"That mean I could buy you cheap stuff and you won't complain?" I pinched her and shot her a dirty look as I swallowed the bite. A stray thought passed through my mind and I couldn't help but grin.

"Only if I get to eat it off your nude body," came my reply, making Sakura choke on the tuna roll she'd just swallowed.

"You're such a pervert Ino!" she shouted, pulling my hair lightly and earning herself another pinch. A gentle warmth settled over me as she let her hand fall around my shoulder and pulled me closer. "But you're my pervert..." she said quietly, resting her cheek against my hair. I let out a long, slow, sigh of contentment and settled into Sakura's embrace. The two of us were quiet for several minutes before a breeze disturbed the placid water and sent a shiver through my body. "Let's get you home, you're probably freezing in that paper thin dress."

"But I want more cuddle time!" I whined, wrapping both arms around Sakura's waist and squeezing tight.

"How about we do both?" Sakura asked with a sneaky grin.

"What do you... eep!" I squeaked as Sakura scooped me up off the bench and started off down the trail toward the village. Grinning, I placed a gentle kiss on Sakura's cheek and lay my head on the now blushing girl's shoulder.

--

"Sakura... I think we should talk," I said to break the silence that had settled over the two of us upon arriving at my house. I took the pink haired girl's hand and lead her inside to the sitting room where yet another silence engulfed us. Chewing my bottom lip with nervous tension, I began pacing back and forth across the room. _'It's now or never, Ino...'_

"Ino, I..."

"I love you Sakura!" I shouted, turning to face the girl with my hands clasped over my heart. "I know you might not feel the same way but I just have to say it in case this really is just a wonderful dream or if... if you don't want to be with me for whatever reason..." Sakura smiled and walked over to me, taking my hands into her own and pressing them to her chest.

"I can't say the words just yet Ino because I don't really understand all that I'm feeling. There's so many new, and in many ways, frightening emotions inside me that I can't even begin to make sense of them. I mean, just thinking about holding you in my arms makes my heart melt and..." a dark blush settled over her cheeks, "thinking about how incredible you look in that dress sets it on fire! I'm not sure how to deal with all of this just yet but I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that I want to experience more of it. I couldn't imagine anything making me happier than being at your side Ino-chan..."

"Oh Sakura!" I shouted, unable to contain the emotions that welled up within me I stepped forward to catch the pink haired girl's lips with my own. My pale blues watched as luminous greens widened with surprise and then slowly, gently, eased closed. Sakura released my hands and placed her own onto my hips and squeezed gently. I hummed low in my throat at the reassuring contact and leaned down further to deepen the kiss. A few moments of sheer bliss passed before the pink haired girl pulled away, her eyes half lidded.

"Ino... where did you learn how to kiss? I always expected my first kiss to be clumsy and awkward but that was... that was..." Sakura managed blearily.

"Promise you won't laugh?" I asked, blushing bright red, Sakura nodded numbly. "I practiced on a shadow clone... of you" I muttered quietly, expecting to girl to burst into laughter anyways. Instead I found Sakura merely staring blankly at me. "Sakura, are you okay? You're not mad that I stole your first.. mmph!" My fears were quickly laid to rest as the pink haired girl pulled me down into a second, more vigorous, kiss.

_** --**_

_**-Sakura- **_

_ 'What am I doing?!'_ I screamed within the confines of my mind as my heart thundered in my chest. That first kiss had ignited a fire in my belly the likes of which I'd never experienced before and had every fiber of my being burning for more of the radiant blonde. _'Could I have really wanted her this badly and not...'_ My thoughts ground to a halt as Ino pulled away, tugging lightly on my lower lip with her teeth as she did so before leaning down further and kissing her way down my jaw to my neck. A low moan escaped my lips and I found my hands trailing down the blonde's back to firmly grasp her rear.

"S-Sakura!" Ino squeaked in surprise as a grin spread from ear to ear. Glancing at something behind me, the blonde giggled and nudged me backwards onto the sofa, proceeding to mount my lap and grip my waist tightly with her thighs. Ino looked ready to redouble her efforts on my neck but paused as a glimmer of rational thought shown through the passion in her eyes. "Sakura... I've wanted you for so long... and I've been so lonely. If... if you want to stop you'd better tell me now because I don't think I'm going to be able to hold myself back if we keep going..." she panted, gazing at me with such longing in those half lidded blue orbs. I made to answer but it would go unspoken as a woman clearing her throat could be heard from across the room. As one, we turned to see the tall blonde form of Ino's mother in the doorway, tapping one foot and shaking her head in a disappointed fashion.

"Mom, oh my god!" Ino shrieked, burying her face into my neck.

"I'm very, very disappointed with you, young lady!" the woman shouted.

"I-It's not what it looks like Mrs. Yamanaka! I swear we..."

"Save it, Sakura, I know what I saw and it's downright shameful!" The woman's tone cowed me to the point that I couldn't even look her in the eye.

"Mom I'm so..."

"You're supposed to wait until at least the third date to give up the goods. It makes them think they need to work for it! Honestly girl, I thought I raised you better!"

"...sorry I don't know how things... say what?!" Ino squawked.

"Oh don't look so surprised, I was young and in love once too you know... only not with a girl... and never so much that we started going at it on the sitting room sofa but the rules stay the same," the woman said, giggling behind her hand.

"I can't be hearing this! It's just so..." the woman continued as if she hadn't heard Ino's protests.

"Although I suppose the two of you do go way back so I guess that makes up for it. You were such touchy-feely girls too, always hugging and holding hands, it's a miracle you didn't reach this point sooner!" Ino whimpered and began shaking her head.

"This is so embarrassing..." Unfortunately, Mrs. Yamanaka had only begun.

--

"She's right," I said, slightly woozy from the blushing marathon the woman had unleashed upon the two of us before retiring to bed, "it really is amazing that we never got together until now... amazing and horrible. Just thinking about all that wasted time... all that pain I caused you..." I trailed off, reaching out to caress the blonde's cheek. Ino smiled and turned to place a gentle kiss against my palm, then another... then she was leaning past it to place a quick kiss on my lips before continuing further to brush her lips against my ear.

"Come to bed with me," she whispered before pulling away to gaze into my eyes with such tender longing. I swallowed hard, feeling myself shiver from head to toe.

"Ino... I don't think we should... it's too early for that kind of..." Ino smiled and shook her head.

"Not like that Sakura, well, not yet anyway. It's just... we used to sleep together all the time and I want that feeling back. If you want to make up lost time then the best way would be to take me right back to where we left off. Please..." I searched deep in those pale blue eyes and couldn't find a trace of mischief. Blinking back tears, I stood and offered my hand to the blonde, pulling her to her feet and following her upstairs to the girl's room.

"Wow, this really takes me..." I started but Ino silenced me with a quick kiss and shook her head as she reached down to unbutton my pants and slide them down my legs. Shivering at the intimacy of the moment, I stepped out of them, wordlessly allowing Ino to unzip and remove my vest as well. There was something so gentle and loving about the blonde's demeanor that eased the butterflies dancing in my stomach and told me that no matter what happened I could trust her completely.

"Sakura?" Ino whispered as she turned her back to me. The request was passed without needing to be spoken and I stepped towards her. Reaching out, with hands steadier than I had expected, I slid the shoulder straps of Ino's dress down over her arms and eased the loosened material down her body, tickling the bare skin of her back with my breath. Ino turned and smiled at me after she stepped out the dress, covering her bare breasts with one arm as she did so. It was easily the most sensual thing I had ever laid eyes on and it completely took my breath away. It wasn't to last forever though as the girl turned back around to open the doors to her closet, slipping a long night shirt on to cover her body before returning and pulling one over my head as well.

"So beautiful..." I said quietly, Ino merely smiled and led me to the bed where we slipped under the covers and lay facing each other. "We used to do this all the time only..." I eased down a little to rest my cheek against Ino's chest, slipping my arm over the girl's waist as I did so, "it was more like this wasn't it?"

"Almost," Ino giggled, slipping her arms around my neck and resting her cheek against my hair, yawning cutely once she was in position. "There we go... that's the sweet spot." I breathed in the sweet flowery scent of the girl and smiled.

"I love the way you smell, Ino." The blonde laughed.

"That's kinda creepy... but since it's you I'll take it as a deep and loving compliment." The quiet we settled into was eventually broken by a small sniffle. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... absolutely nothing," I whispered. Ino placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"Goodnight my sweet."

"Goodnight my pervert," I answered, yawning deeply.

"I love you Sakura... now and always," Ino whispered.

"I love you too, Ino... now... and..." my voice drifted off as I fell into the most peaceful sleep I'd had in years... Ino's tears falling unnoticed into my hair.

-

**End Notes:**

**Over the top and sweet, just like she wanted it. **

**Sumi had finished this a bit ago but never had the chance to edit or post it so I took care of that. I have all her notes and we talked about this story a lot but I'm not sure which one to go with next so I'll ask all of you what you want to read.**

**Tsunade/Shizune**

**Tenten/Temari**

**Kurenai/Anko**

**Hanabi/Moegi**

**It will probably be a while before I do any work on this story but it'd be good to have an idea of what people are interested in.**

**--Silvi**

**In loving memory of Kasumi Lien Li Masters...  
**


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